Debt Calculator

Use this debt calculator to figure how long it will take to pay off your debt. Plus, it will also tell you the average monthly interest you will pay between now and when the debt is paid off. Tips and tricks to get out of debt are below.

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Your Current Monthly Payment?

Annual Interest Rate (APR)?

Amount Owed?

Are you making "Fixed" or "Declining Minimum" payments?

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Average monthly interest paid over life of loan:

Number of months until debt payoff:

Number of years to get out of debt:

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How Long Will You Take To Pay Off Debt?

Sure, you want to get out of debt, but how do you do it? And, how long will it take you to pay off your debt?

Fortunately, this Debt Calculator makes the math easy. Simply input your current monthly payment, annual interest rate, amount owed, and whether you are making fixed or declining minimum payments – the calculator does the heavy lifting for you.

Identify The Cause Of Your Debt

If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, you must make more or spend less to pay off your debt. Sure that is obvious, but sometime the obvious eludes people.

What that means is debt is a personal problem masquerading in financial clothing. You think you have a financial problem but that is an illusion. Debt results from behavior. It is caused by your money habits.

The first step to get out of debt is to recognize your behavior is the problem. Likewise, recognize your behavior can be the solution. You are solely responsible and you are the only one who can fix this problem – permanently.

It’s that simple.

When you change your spending habits your financial picture will automatically reflect that change. Todd has written at length about personal responsibility and debt – take a look to learn more about how life habits and attitudes affect your spending.

Get Out Of Debt – Overview

You’re in debt. How do you get out? Here’s a quick game plan.
Our Debt Calculator is a fantastic starting point, but a more permanent solution requires these three action steps:

Identify overspending – Overspending is one major cause of debt that must be corrected to permanently fix the problem. Start by identifying all the ways you overspend.

End overspending – Do what it takes to end overspending otherwise you will just repeat the debt cycle. Raise your income or lower your expenses – or both!

Use the Debt Calculator – The calculator will show how long it will take to get out of debt, revealing the progress you’re making in your payments. Figure out how much faster you’ll get out of debt now that you aren’t overspending thus saving more money!

Do not make the mistake of going straight to the third step by trying to pay down your debts. You must first resolve the root cause – overspending – by eliminating unnecessary expenses and/or raising your income. The desire to find a quick fix is why so many debtors repeat the cycle over and over again – paying off credit cards only to run them up again.

Here’s how to get out of debt step-by-step…

Get Out Of Debt – Step By Step

Step 1: Identify The Cause

As stated above, the cause is your behavior.Your debt is caused by your habits and attitudes that determine hundreds of daily financial decisions. You must own this truth to focus your efforts on the appropriate cure.

Step 2: Implement The Cure

It’s time to apply whatever strategies are necessary to correct those habits:

Replace emotional shopping – Find alternatives to shopping that bring you greater enjoyment. Try exercising, listening to music, or enjoying nature. They cost almost nothing and can be a healthy and economical alternative.

Spend cash – When you’re spending cash you are more connected to the cost of things and less likely to overspend. Use cash on discretionary expenses as you see fit.

Create accountability – Tell your friends and family about your planned lifestyle changes. Ask them to support you by holding you accountable.

Increase income – Improve your job skills or consider a new career. Consider working overtime or taking on seasonal or freelance work.

Remember, the goal for this step is to spend less than you earn. When you reach this point you will have the monthly savings necessary to begin paying down your debt (as shown in the Debt Calculator above).

Step 3: Pay Down The Debt

It’s time to pay off all your debt in the most reliable, efficient way possible. This step is broken into three sub-steps to make it easy to complete:

Sell your stuff – Now that the root cause – cash flow problems – is solved, it is okay to pursue quick payoff strategies. Do you have jewelry, an extra car, recreational vehicle, or a boat that is seldom used? What can you sell to accelerate the payoff process?

Take The First Step And Stick To Your Plan

Reducing debt is like dieting. You need to change your lifestyle and stick to your daily exercise to reduce weight. Sometimes taking the first step is the most difficult part – if you just start, you’ll want to complete what you started!

That doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing from there. You’re going to need encouragement. Support of a spouse or close family members is so very important.

The key is persistence. Work your plan and stay the course long enough to reach the goal and you too will be debt free.

Debt Snowball – This is the most emotionally satisfying payoff strategy because debts are ordered from lowest balance to largest balance so you can see results faster. This gives greater odds of staying the course to completion because of the emotional reward of watching entire debts get wiped out rapidly.

Debt Avalanche – This creates the fastest payoff by ordering your debts from highest interest rate to lowest interest rate. By concentrating your payments toward your most expensive debt first you lower the total interest cost and payoff the debt faster. The downside is if you have a large debt at a high interest rate it could feel slow to start.

Disclaimer: Each calculator on this web site is believed to be accurate. However no guarantee is made to accuracy and the publisher specifically disclaims any and all liability arising from the use of this or any other calculator on this web site. Use at your own risk and verify all results with an appropriate financial professional before taking action. The information contained on this web site is the opinion of the individual authors based on their personal observation, research, and years of experience. The publisher and its authors are not registered investment advisers, attorneys, CPA’s or other financial service professionals and do not render legal, tax, accounting, investment advice or other professional services. The information offered by this web site is general education only. Because each individual’s factual situation is different the reader should seek his or her own personal adviser. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions and shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained on this site. Use at your own risk. Additionally, this website may receive financial compensation from the companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. Rates and offers from advertisers shown on this website change frequently, sometimes without notice. While we strive to maintain timely and accurate information, offer details may be out of date. Visitors should thus verify the terms of any such offers prior to participating in them. The author and its publisher disclaim responsibility for updating information and disclaim responsibility for third-party content, products, and services including when accessed through hyperlinks and/or advertisements on this site.

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